Biofilm formation is a complex process culminating in a multicellular microbial structure encased in an extracellular matrix. In order for planktonic cells to initiate and proceed through biofilm formation, they must appropriately regulate a number...

Production of fuel ethanol from cellulosic materials is a potentially attractive way to meet sustainability, energy security, and environmental goals. However, the high cost of processing using current technology has thus far prevented...

Swarming motility is a flagella-dependent surface motility, and is also a form of bacterial group behavior. Similar to its counterpart biofilm formation, our understanding of swarming motility has been hampered by its complex set of requirements...

This thesis describes the synthesis of sulfobetaines having the general structure $\rm RN\sp{+}(CH\sb3)\sb2(CH\sb2)\sb{x}SO\sb{3\sp{-}}$ as novel inhibitors of squalene synthase. Squalene synthase reductively couples two molecules of farnesyl...

Many environmental toxicants found in pesticides, herbicides, and industrial solvents are believed to have deleterious effects on development by disrupting hormone-sensitive processes. Xenopus embryos were exposed to commonly encountered endocrine...

Nitric oxide is synthesized by living organisms and plays important roles in circulatory, neurological, and immune function. Nitric oxide can also play pathophysiological roles, depending on the amount of the molecule, the presence of other species...

The research presented in this thesis tested the hypothesis that uterine epithelial cells (UEC) are selectively responsive to bacteria and pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMP) and that responses are influenced by estradiol (E 2 ). We...

Hedgehog (HH) proteins play an important and evolutionary conserved patterning role in metazoan development. Aside from this physiological role, pathologically HH proteins are implicated in human developmental disorders and post-developmental...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the model organisms used to study the developmental process of biofilm formation in Gram-negative bacteria. Recently, a genetic approach {O'Toole, 1998 #404} was taken to study biofilm formation in P. aeruginosa and...

Chapter II of this thesis describes the synthesis of a number of sulfobetaines and bissulfobetaines to be evaluated as inhibitors of squalene synthase (SS) on the basis of the idea proposed by Shechter that their zwitterionic structure would be...

Decompression sickness (DCS, or the "Bends") is a condition that afflicts hundreds of divers each year and is cause for concern for both the Navy, the Air Force, and NASA. Despite the fact that bubble formation is the purported cause of DCS...

Nanocomposite materials containing both gold and cobalt were synthesized using block copolymers as agents for controlling spatial organization of the nanoparticles. The targeted polymers are polystyrene- block -poly(alkyne-functional)styrene...

Colloidal nanoparticles are particles with sizes ranging from one nanometer to several hundred nanometers, which disperse evenly in a dispersion medium. In aqueous solutions, amphiphilic molecules organize themselves to form such colloidal systems...

Prior to biological conversion of lignocellulosic biomass, natural barriers to efficient enzymatic hydrolysis must be overcome, and a few pretreatment technologies effectively accomplish this job with chemicals. Although several factors are...

AMPA receptors are glutamate-gated ion channels that mediate most of the excitatory synaptic signals in the central nervous system. They form tetrameric assemblies that are combinations of the subunits GluR1-4, each of which contains a...